Drier structure



L. J. SKROMME DRIER STRUCTURE `April 13 1926.

Filed Feb. 19, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l zzz/ezz/ar Zfzzzf I Zzvzzzzzzz @Mm/9,1%

' April 13 192@ L.. J. SKROMME DRIER STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 19, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet f Jaw/:far j?? Zaza' d' JZWZZZZZ latented .unire lei-"aras @irait yrfriies.

4ID'BIEYB, STRUCTURE.

r App1ieation-led,IEeciruary 19, 1925-, Serial No. 10,256.

My invention relates to a structure for` .use in drying seed corn and other grains,

which is adaptablefor a great variety ot y purposes and to a process in which such a structure orv a similar-Tone may be employed.

More particularly, it is my Vpurpose to .provide in a structure of the lrind under consideration, ak series of cribs, which may be arranged in line adjacent to an air chute which also servesas a runway, controllable means of communicationbeing proyided be-Y tween the chute and eachseparate, compartment lor crib.v

Aiurther'purpose 1s to provide in such a structure false perforated bottoms tor the cribs above. the main bottoms thereoifkand above the openings into the chute.

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' my claims, and"illustrated intheV accom-4r y Still a further purpose is` to provide in such a structure, means'for forcing heated air into `the chute.

Itis also my purpose to provide, means for controlling,` the temperature oi the heated air. s

:With these 4. andother objects inpview, my invention consists' in 'the construction,

arrangement and combination of the various parts of my drier structure, whereby the objects contemplated areattained, as here fvary in 4size, but I have toundthat acominaiter more'iully set forth, pointed out in panying; drawings, in which:

Figure l shows a perspective view ot a series of cribs with an air chute and runway arranged between them .embodying ;l'eatures of my invention.

Figurel 2 is an elevatori, parts beingshown in sectionv and partsybeing broken away, illustrating'the cribs, the chute, and the air controlling` means.

Figure 3 is a top plan view ot a portion oit the cribs and air chute.

4Figure /l is a vertical, transve" view vtaken oir the` line L -4e of Figure 3;

, and

lliigure 5 is a detailed, sectional view tak- I 1 1 Eupen-the line 5 5 otlligure 4i.

"o, sectional large scale, it is of greatimportance to ybe able to properly save and treat seed` corn. In some years,A vfor instancefthis year,

much .of the corn has' been soft. at the time when itm st be picked in order toy save the seed corn before .the corn in the iield has ,been frosted. Iihere seed corn in handled on, a large scale', it is a. 'diiiicult matter to dry it out properly. It. the weather is wet, so that the air remains damp for a.. considerable period, it is almost"` impossible to" dry out the corn without -artiiicial drying and heating means without moulding. Y y

` It is my purpose therefore to provide means and a process Whereby-seedcornmay be thorougl'ily dried out i'n large, quantities with av minimum likelihood vof injury to the corn. A i' Y In general,` I accomplisl'ithis purpose by placing the corn infcribsaboutleightf` feet square and-six feet high, and forcing heated air through the corn. I haveffound it? diiiiculty t0V control the temperatureof` the air and-therefore considerA thetemperature-icon- `trol one or the important features" of my invention. Y It is furthertruethatlthe,apparatus must besuch as to--facilitatex the convenient and rapid. handling` of the' corn, and this makes the arrangement of parts as suggested here- -inA of- Aconsiderable l importance.

Inthe lprac-ticeo-my invention', I arrange a series lof compartments i() inalignment as shown in Figure l of the drawings `herewith. -lhese compartments may, of course,

parti-nentor-crib siizeet high., andapproxi -mately eight feet squarel is satistactory For practical purposes," V'I1-havev found it desirable-to use xtworowsoif'fcrilos l() arrairgfedv in .parallel Y lines spaced from each other, as'shown in-li`igure l. A

Arranged, between tliewrows 'oit-cribs l() Y atthe bottoms thereof is aii-air-eliute or flue '1.11.

Closure Acontrol openings -arearranged between the lower part oiQ-Lea-olilcrib orlcompartrnent yl0-and thecliute or-flue Vl1, as hereinafter reterred to,y i and 'airiV isi -orced `inta-the lchute or` flue!` illsandi theneeinto lthe respective compartments inv which the corn is tobeudried. y

In order that thewair' may pass upwardly totheto'p-oi1 pil'ein each crib, the walls oifloalcli.cgrib` IO p forate., alla eaclrerib,

provided with upright posts 12 extending upwardly to about the height of the flue or chute 11.

A false bottom is provided for each compartment or crib comprising sleepers or cross bars 13 having their ends received in sockets 1st in the post 12. 1f desired, the posts 12 may be provided between the walls of the cribs or compartments to support the cross bars 13. Laid on the cross bars 13 of each crib is: a false bot-tom 15 made of connected slats and made in as many sections as may be desired. Y

It will be seen that the false bottom 15 and the bars 13 may be removed if desired. rlhis is of considerable importance. The false bottom is provided in order to allow for free circulation of air underneath the corn, and to permit the air to enter the corn from below at all points in the horizontal area of the crib. The false bottom, of course, must have such openings as to permit the air to pass freely upwardly into and through the corn.

Because the corn sometimes shells freely,

- it is obvious that the shelled corn will drop through the false bottom, and it is then necessary that the false bottom be removable to permit access to the bottom 1G of the crib for permitting the easy removal of the shelled corn.

Preferably each crib or compartment is provided with a door 17 opening above the lue and runway 11, so that the corn may be shoveled from the crib onto warehouse trucks, using the flue as a runway. At one end of the flue is aniinclined runway member 18 over which the trucks may be run from or to the runway.

In the wall, which separates the flue or chute 11 from the compartments 10, there is provided for each compartment 10 an opening 19.

The moven'ient of air through the opening 19 is controlled by means of a slidably mounted door or closure element 20, which has a handle 21 above the flue 11 and outside the compartments 10.

It is necessary to have a controllable closure member for regulating the access ot air to each compartment 10 separately in order that the warm air may be supplied to the cribs according to their respective requirements and in order to close access to any empty cribs.

The cribs are filled at different times and with different kinds of corn requiring different drying periods so that separate control of the air How to each crib is necessary.

Air control and heating means.

I have provided means for supplying heated air to the flue 11 for controlling the Jtemperature thereof as follows: Suitable heating means, such as the furnace 22 is provided near the compartments 10.

A large fan or pump 23 is arranged to draw air from the furnace through a pipe and to force the air through a pipe 25 to one end of the flue 11. The fan 23 is operated from a motor 26.

I have found that it is quite diliicult to properly regulate the flow and temperature of the heated air.

It is, of course, desirous to avoid heating the air to too high a temperature, because the corn will then be dried out too quickly and will sometimes be spoiled. This danger is partially avoided by providing a long flue A11 and by providing the spaces under the floors 15, which affords a large space for the dispersing of the air, and for cooling before the air comes into direct contact with the corn. This provision of a considerable space for cooling the hot air and mixing it with the air already in the iiue and the bettoms of the compartments seems to be necessary, even where an additional temperature control means is provided.

'l provide another control means, comprising a heat actuated thermostat 23 of any suitable form arranged in the flue 11 adjacent to the point where the air enters the tlue from the pipe 25 and preferably at the top of the flue.

Connected with the thermostat is a control rod 2f). Suitably mounted on a bracket is a bell crank lever 31 to which is pivoted a rod 32. rl`he rods 32 and 29 are connected to a turn buckle 33. @ne end of the bell crank lever 31 is connected by a chain 3-1: extending over a pulley 35 with the draft door 36 of the furnace 22. The other' end of the bell crank lever 31 is connected by a chain or other flexible device 37 extended over ay pulley 33 with the check door 3S) of the furnace.

It will thus been seen that by the use of a thermostat, the action of the tur1nu-(. can be controlled for regulating with a certain degree of accuracy the temperature ot the air entering the tine 11.

By providing the flue 11 oil' considerable length and providing the open spaces underneath the false bottoms of the compartments 10, nd that the temperature of the air forced upwardly tlreough the corn can be controlled to a sufficient degree for accoml plishing the purpose of not overhealing tl'ie. corn and of drying the corn rapidly enough lo get the best results.

lilhcnever corn is placed in one or more olf the compartments 10, the furnace 22 may be started and the motor 26 operated for working the fan or pump 23 for forcingheated air to the chute 11. rihe sliding doors 20 of the compartments 10 containing corn are opened, and the heated air will he forced into the spaces below the false bottoms of such compartments and will pass upward] y through the corn.

If one batch of corn has more moisture. in it than another, one door 20 may be opened more fully than another for further controlling the flow of warmair to the corn.

The advantages of a device of the kind herein described are many. It is desirable to be able to force the air through the corn. If no forced draft were provided, the air would sometimes pass upwardly through the corn satisfactorily, but the air will not pass so well through corn that shells freely, since the shelled coin sifts toward the bottom of the pile and serves to retard the natural passage of air through the corn.

It is also necessary to force the air through because sometimes the corn will mould before the corn is dried, where the air is simply allowed to pass through in the lnatural way.

It is desirable to be able to heat the air, because hot air will dry the corn out more quickly and heated air willv be drier than atmospheric air.

To force air from the atmosphere without heating and drying it through moist corn on damp days docs not properly dry the corn.

Where heated air is used and is forced through the corn, the drying process can be much morev accurately controlled.

By regulating the temperature of the air, the accuracy of the control of the drying process can be increased. I place a then mometer 40 near the thermostat 28 for the convenience of the operator in controlling the temperature of the air.

It will therefore be seen that I have provided an apparatus and process for drying corn and according to which Warm air may be forced through the cornat a regulated temperature. y f

It should perhaps be mentioned that this apparatus and process may be used for drying a great variety of fruits and vegetables and may be used for destroying germs or for cooking certain products.V

I do not desire to limit myself to the use ,of air only, with my structure.

Changes may be made in the details of the structure and arrangement oft' the various parts of my device and the details of the steps of the process without departing` from.

flue to the compartments, and means for controlling the temperature of the air forced through the flue, said compartments having false {ioors above said openings adapted to support the contents of the compartments and to permit the free passage of air.

2. In a drying structure, a plurality of aligned compartments, an air flue alongside thereof, adjustable closure controlled openings between the flue and the respective comiartments, means for forcing air through the flue to the con'ipartments, and means for controlling the temperature ofthe air forced through the flue, said compartments having removable false floors above said openings adapted to support the contents of the compartments and to permit the free passage of an'.

3. In a drying structure, a plurality of aligned compartments, a plurality of aligned compartments parallel therewith, an air flue arranged between the compartments forming a way, said structure having closure controlled openings between the flue and the respective compartments, and means for forcing heated air through the iiue to the compartments whose closures are open, comprising a heating device and a pump ele.- ment.

4. In a drying structure, a plurality of` aligned compartments, a plurality of aligned compartments parallel there-with, an air iue arranged between the compartments forming a way, said structure having closure controlled openings between the flue and the respective compartments, and means for forcing heated airthrough the flue to the compartments whose closures are open, comprising a heating .device and a pump element, and means for cont-rolling the temperature comprising a temperature actuated member in the flue operatively connected with the heating device for controlling the functioning thereof.

In a structure of the class described, a plurality of adjacent compartments each having a false foraminous bottom and imperforate side walls, an air chute adjacent to said compartments, the said compartments below the false bottoms having openings into the air chute, adjustable closure devi-Gestor said openings, and means for supplying heated air to the air chute.

6. In a structure of the class described, a plurality of adjacent compartments each having a "false foraminousbottom and int perforate side walls, an air chute adjacent to said compartments, the said compartments below the false bottoms having openings into the air chute, adjustable closure devices for said openings, and means for supplying heated air to the air chute and for controlling the temperature ofV such air.

Lans J. sKRoMME., 

